The Power of a Modeled Heart

The Legacy of Love: Carrying One Another’s Burdens

Introduction - The Power of a Modeled Heart

Some lessons are not taught they’re caught. Love, kindness, and compassion are best learned through the lives of those who model them with consistency and humility.

The culture of love that defines Christian Outreach Center wasn’t built by chance, it was shaped by two extraordinary people, my parents, who lived the message of Christ long before there was a pulpit, a platform, or a crowd.

My father grew up in a single-parent home, watching his mother do everything she could to feed him and his sister. As a young man, he made a promise to himself: “One day, I’m going to do better than my father did. I’m going to love my wife and treat my kids with honor.” That promise became the seed of generational healing and legacy.

My mother’s story was just as powerful. She and her four sisters were raised primarily in foster care, wearing hand-me-downs and often going to bed hungry. But through it all, God was writing something divine. He was shaping her heart for compassion and preparing her to partner with my father in a work that would touch countless lives. God never wastes pain-He transforms it into purpose and turns suffering into strength.

Together, my parents embodied the truth of Galatians 6:2:

“Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” Galatians 6:2

They didn’t just preach love they practiced it. They gave away toiletries, food, and clothing to families in need. They visited prisons and sent money to those behind bars. My father once loaned a man ten thousand dollars in the 1980s to start a business.

Years later, when the man became successful, he came back to repay the loan with interest. My father smiled and said, “Keep it. I’m just happy to see you blessed. Let’s keep spreading God’s love together.”

I didn’t learn that story until years after my father passed in November 2001. When the man shared it with me, we both wept. That day I realized that having a good heart is more than emotion it’s a reflection of Christ Himself. Real love is not transactional; it’s transformational. It gives without expectation, forgives without record, and serves without applause.

But this kind of love must be modeled for each generation, because we naturally drift toward self-focus. When love is lived before us, it awakens something eternal within.

It teaches us to see beyond ourselves and to live for others. That’s what it means to fulfill the law of Christ-to love as He loved, to serve as He served, and to carry one another’s burdens until the world feels the heartbeat of heaven through us.

Supporting Scriptures

1. Galatians 6:2

“Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.”

2. John 13:34–35

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

3. Romans 13:11

“Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.”